A/n: I hope the emojis work for boys' interface names, some devices don't support all of them. Luke's has a carrot...wanted to use broccoli, but it is too new for wattpad I guess.
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The next day we were in Training Room 3 to practice combat manoeuvres. Luke was tasked with making illusions of Ionoth attack us. Gabriel and Sean were my minders, playing Velcro Sang and Move Her from the Monsters, while the others did their best to kill the illusions before they got that far. Lightning, and fire blasts in one direction, water bullets in another, with Nathan blurring all around at top speed. Kota organized the defensive strategy, while Tsee Blackbourne directed Luke's illusion attacks. Well, he was trying to anyway. Luke and Gabriel were distracted, chatting on the Interface.
"Tset Taylor! What could possibly more important to you and Tset Coleman than this training exercise!" His stern voice rang through the room, halting the activity. "Do you need a reminder that we are under official mission-log? Or that this lack of discipline could cost our squad lives in the Ena?"
No one was talking. Luke and Gabriel were clearly cowed.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" Tsee Blackbourne demanded.
They sort of stared daggers at one another, clearly Gabriel lost the battle and was playing sacrificial lamb. He said, "Well, Sang..." drifting off.
"Yes, we all were worried about Miss Sorenson, and please use her appropriate address while on-mission," Tsee Blackbourne chided impatiently.
"Uh...well, no.." Gabriel then mumbled, "itsmisssorensonsbirthdaytomorrow."
"What?" Tsee Blackbourne asked, narrowing his eyes.
Luke chimed in then, "Important Earth tradition... yearly celebration of a person's birth. Miss Sorenson's birthday is tomorrow...and we were...uh...."
Tsee Blackbourne was not impressed. "Two kasse tomorrow," was all he said, then ordered everyone to get back to work.
We worked, or rather they worked while I stood or sat around doing hardly anything but eating those horrid energy bars, for another two kasse. Without Luke distracted, the others were challenged more. In one practice battle, most of the others were occupied with some flying creatures and Like sent a sneak attack by a swarm of spider-like creatures from the opposite direction. Gabriel cussed loudly and zoomed the pair of us to the ceiling, leaving Sean behind to fend for himself. I got the strong impression Gabriel didn't like them very much, to put it mildly.
"Training Exercise: Completed" flashed across my vision over the Interface and Tsee Blackbourne said, "Dismissed." The guys were all sweaty and breathing hard.
Nathan walked over to where I stood with Sean and Gabriel. "How about a swim?" he asked. Others drifted in our direction.
Gabriel wiping his brow replied, "Yeah, sounds fucking good."
Kota added, "Aquatics Training Room is clear of anything on the schedule. Actually, I just booked Fourth Squad in, though, no more training today." He reassured me with a smile.
Sean raised his voice asking, "Owen, you going to join us?"
"Ista Green," Tsee Blackbourne evaded, "I believe I have a report to file."
Sean didn't say anything else, just seemed to be silently communicating something. I think I saw the twitch of a millimeter smile, but Tsee Blackbourne turned on his heel and headed out the door.
Sean sighed, then turned to me, "Pookie, as much as I would love to join you and the other guys, Tsee Blackbourne has reminded me of something I need to do. Perhaps another time?"
I just nodded, blushing at the silly nickname. I noticed Silas lean into North and ask something in Kolarian. North just lowered his brows and shook his head.
Sean winked and followed behind Tsee Blackbourne. The rest of us went to the showers attached to the pool room and recycled our nanosuits, adjusting to the swimwear settings. I had squeezed my eyes tight when the goo came shooting out and wriggled into place. I didn't think I would ever get used to that sensation. When I stepped out and opened my eyes, most of the boys were giving me wide-eyed looks. Gabriel and Luke looked smug and mischievous. Well, Victor also looked a little guilty. I looked down to a mostly black suit with a pink swirling pattern with hearts and a bird shape.
"What you do, Gabriel?" I asked, only somewhat put-out. I really liked the pink.
"Pink is your color, Trouble," he said. "It isn't used for any other talent designation, and you need something special. Victor helped too with the programming."
I was torn, loving that they had done something like that for me, taking into account my preferences, but also feeling that it made me stand out.
"Uniform is okay just us, but use normal black and only pink stripes normal," I said. To Gabriel, Luke and Victor I gave quiet thanks.
Suddenly, a spout of water shot out smacking North in the back of the head. He dived after Silas who was now retreating into the water and almost everyone followed. Victor had held back a moment with me saying, "Anything for you, Princess. You ready to swim?" he asked. I nodded and he entered with me at the stairs in the only shallow section of the massive pool.
Nathan popped up in front of us when we were in chest-high. "Want to try the breathers and go a little deeper this time?"
"Will have pressure on ears?" I asked.
"Oh, the nanocytes in your suit can moderate that. Just send a few up to your ears to plug them," Victor instructed.
Ew! Yeah, that was definitely the worst of the wiggling feeling, but it worked and with the breathers we were soon tumbling and weaving through some of the underwater obstacles. It was definitely a new experience having a group conversation over the Interface while underwater. l
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Interface Channel: Group
Users: K🔬t∆, N8🔥, V🎼tor, G🎨be, SiL⛵s, S💝, N😠rth, L💀2🥕
K: What were you talking about earlier...this Birthday thing?
L: It is awesome. S💝 says on a birthday you get presents 🎁 and CAKE🍰!!!
No: No, absolutely not. No cake. You eat too much sugar as it is.
L: 😢
V: Presents? We need to go shopping?
Na: Oh no, we are not letting G🎨be go shopping.
G: Ha! Already done. Also, we are doing a Birthday Sleepover💤, so you fuckers get your shit over to K🔬t∆, V🎼tor and N8🔥's place.
L: Oh, are we doing the sleepover tonight, not tomorrow?
G: Yeah, check the calendar.😰 We got stuck with orbs rotation third shift tomorrow.
Si: I claim S💝 Duty for that shift!
L: I claim...hey, I was going to claim that!
No: You're not allowed to claim S💝 Duty.
V: Actually, I think SiL⛵s and I were on the schedule for that shift.
K: Sorry about that everyone. I didn't think Eleventh Squad was ready to handle it when I evaluated them the other kai. And yes, SiL⛵s and V🎼tor were scheduled S💝 Duty at that time. Sorry S💝, are you okay with that?
G: Tell him NO, S💝...tell him you want Gabriel for Trouble Duty.
Si: Aggele mou, my apologies. Please let us know what you want.
Sa: I think stay on schedule. Most fair. Unless special talent needed in Ena mission. I want you all safe, return with no injury. If all team needed, all should go. I can stay in MedBay, even though not like.
K: We will see what Tsee Blackbourne says. Let's start moving back to the surface. Take it slowly. The nanocytes reduce the surface-return time significantly, but we still need to be careful adjusting to pressure.
******
I felt a tug on my foot and looked down to see Kota below me. I smiled as he swam up even. He placed my hands on his shoulders and then put a hand on my waist. He twirled us around, like an underwater waltz. I laughed behind the breather, bubbles escaping upward. After a few minutes we moved up joining Luke and Victor. They each took a turn at underwater dancing as we made stops to depressurize. My stomach flipping each time they pulled me close. When we reached the surface Nathan was my current partner and we raced to the shallow part of the pool.
"Here, step into my hands, brace yourself on my shoulders," he instructed.
"Why?" I asked.
"I'm going to toss you. Do a flip or something," he said. "I'll count to 3. Ready? 1, 2, 3!"
I was launched up and back towards the deeper section, doing a sort of half twist. I heard North yell some warning, then braced for the dive into the water, but it never came. Instead, I was sort of suspended above the water. I looked over to see who had used telekinesis to stop me. Kota shrugged then winked and I dropped the rest of the way down with a small splash.
We played awhile longer, racing and some of the other boys tossing each other to do flips and such. I looked around at the guys, thinking about how talented, and kind, and amazing they all were. It felt like my heart was being tugged in several directions at once. Was I getting too attached to them...was I already in too deep?